Post World War II Migrant Ships: Orcades

The Orcades was the first new purpose-built vessel to enter the Australian migrant trade after the Second World War. She set a new standard in style and accommodation, offering multiple saloons, shops, a hair salon, hospital, swimming pool, and a range of cabin choices. Many immigrants to Australia travelled on the Orcades and remember her sense of style and the feeling of “old world” luxury they experienced.

The Orcades at full steam during acceptance trails off Arran in which she recorded the remarkable maximum speed of 24.74 knots.Photographer: unknown. Source: Orcades Album, Museum Victoria.

Facts at a Glance

History of the Ship

The Orcades was the third ship of this name to serve the Orient Line. Built at a cost of 3,500,000 (English) pounds, she was the first replacement for four large passenger ships that the Orient Line had lost during World War Two. When commissioned, she was the largest and fastest passenger ship on the Australian trade, achieving up to 24.74 knots in her acceptance trials, although 22 knots was always stated as her service speed.

After being launched on 14 October 1947, the Orcades was fitted out with accommodation for a total of 1,545 passengers over two classes – 773 in first class and 772 in tourist class. Having been built for the Orient Line’s regular scheduled Australian passenger service, the Orcades carried government and business passengers, as well as maintaining a mail contract. Of course, as a British ship, she also carried immigrants from her maiden voyage.

Immigrant Ship to Australia

The Orcades left Tilbury Docks, London, for her maiden voyage to Australia on 14 December 1948, arriving in Fremantle on 6 January and Melbourne on 10 January. During this voyage, she set a new speed record for the London to Melbourne route, taking ten days off the pre-war record.

She made well over 55 voyages to Australia between 1948 and 1972, travelling via the Suez Canal until 1955 when she made her first voyage via Panama. During the Olympic Games of November 1956, the Orcades spent two entire weeks berthed in Melbourne, and was used as a floating hotel, accommodating thousands of visitors to Australia.

In 1956, she was refitted by Harland & Wolff. Air-conditioning was installed throughout the entire ship and a new swimming pool was added to first class, with the old pool being allocated to tourist class. She was again refitted in 1964 – this time to accommodate 1,635 passengers in a single class, but after this time was used for cruising more often than immigration travel.

Passenger Experiences of the Journey

Many immigrants travelling on the Orcades recall her grandeur and the luxuries they experienced on the journey – a far cry from the war-ravaged countries they left behind.

In an anonymous journal, recording a journey on the Orcades from September to October in 1949, the author’s tone is positive and light hearted but their glowing descriptions of shipboard fare are coloured by the memory of post-war England, rationing and straightened circumstances:

'For lunch we had soup, oxtail and vegetables, rice pudding rolls and cheese (a helping which is greater than a person’s ration for a week). What there is for dinner this evening I can’t remember, anyway I have rumbles in my tummy just to anticipate it. I’m doing justice to my “inards”, the first time in years…' September 1949.

Her Final Voyage

When her immigration travels came to an end, the Orcades left Sydney for the last time on 3 June 1972, bound for Britain. For a while, she made a short number of cruises out of Southampton, but departed on 28 December 1972 for the shipbreakers in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Comments (122)

My parents and I immigrated to Sydney on the Orcades in early 1956, sailing through the Suez Canal, either just before or just after the closure of the canal. I can't find any records of this voyage or of any passenger lists. Any help in finding this information would be greatly appreciated. Regards Gordon Taylor

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Mary O'Donoghue
22 November, 2009 21:12

My family travelled from England to Australia on this ship in 1969. Coca Cola was free on board and we drank so much of it. We had a wonderful waiter who was always late for breakfast service. I still have an "Orcades " sailor doll. I loved our time on board especially King Neptune celebrations.

I worked on the Orcades from 14/08/1969-01/08/1970 as a Able Seamen, i am trying to to put together a portfolio of all the places i visited during my sea career, would anybody have any information on the ports that the orcades visited during the above dates.
Many Thanks
David Mark Chatham

I sailed from Fremantle to London in 1970 with the suez canal closed down we sailed to Durban and Cape Town in south Africa and than on to Dakar which is in Senegal and Lisbon (Portugal before arriving in London. I do hope that this will be of help to you.

Ken O'Connell
23 August, 2013 10:01

I cruised on Ordaces in 1970 from Brisbane visiting Nuku'alofa, Suva, Port Vila, Apia, American Samoa, returning to Sydney. Beautiful ship - my first cruise. Sad to have her broken up.

Discovery Centre
16 March, 2010 16:05

Hi David – Perhaps you could contact the company that owned the ship, P&O - Orient Lines. Know operating as P&O cruises you can find their contact details here. Good luck with your search!

Hi Chris, I and my family also travelled out on the same voyage as you. Dad, mum and the three of us disembarked at Fremantle (mum's home). I think my brother has some video of the voyage as dad and mum had a windup cine camera.
cheers
Greg

I sailed on Orcades from Sydney to London in February 1966 just before the introduction of decimal currency, was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Would luv to see a photo of your home in the Orcades lifeboat.

John Skeats
13 July, 2014 09:56

Hi John,
I immigrated to Australia in 1960 on the Orcades, if possible could you send me a photo of your lifeboat home.

roger stanley
13 August, 2010 09:50

Thge Maiden voyage of the ORCADES went to Fremantle and Melbourne that I know of: where else did it visit during the maiden voyage? 1948/1949

What a wonderful adventure for a young 16 year old, traveling alone from Tilbury and arriving at Fremantle March 13, 1952. It was wonderful to have so much good "tucker".
What a joy to arrive in Port Adelaide a short time later. Met by a child welfare representative and a farmer, I was quickly escorted to a small farm where I was trained to use and axe for clearing forests. No chainsaws those days. Having to work 7 days a week and long hours I wanted to jump ship and return to UK. But, those days were so wonderful in this marvelous country. I left Adelaide and drove across to Victoria after completing my 2 years and of course found a much better life. Looking back, what wonderful days those were, we were so free, and with so much opportunity. I'm afraid, the country I live in now is so far removed from the wonderful country that I came to in early 1952. How I'd love to meet anyone who came with me on that wonderful voyage.

Howdy Robert
I also sailed on the Orcades 13 voyage Departing Tilbury on my 19th Birthay 20th March 1952. We diembarked at Port Adelaide 15th April VERY HOT.I lived in South Kensington,London, it was certainly different here and I still live in Adelaide. Be happy to converse with you. Cheers

Norman Wells
19 October, 2010 18:51

The Wells family which included me as 7yr old boy and my two elder sisters (the youngest turning 16 at Gibraltar) from Glasgow sailed for a new post war life in Western Australia as 1st class passengers in April 1951 arriving Fremantle 24 April. The 23 day Suez passage saw the ship day stop at Gibraltar, Naples, Port Said, Aden, Colombo, then six days across the Indian to Fremantle. Alas the great ship's arrival into Fremantle was to be frustrated by me being isolated in hospital with a Chicken Pox rash outreak near the equator and the Orcades berthed flying the quaratine flag because of my illnees. My parents were not popular as their through passengers friends were not permitted ashore for paid up tours and I was quickly isolated in the WA Australian Quarintine Station for a week (the fear being the possibility of my illness being scarlet fever).
In 1954 my father returned to the UK for a visit returning on the outward maiden voyage of the Orient Liner SS ORSOVA. This ship arrived displaying for the first time the distinct "flower pot" smoke control funnel extension which was later fitted during refit to the rest of the old Orient Line fleet post 1954.
My time aboard RMS ORCADES in April 1951 remains a vivid and detailed childhood memory living on 'E' deck eating on 'F' swimming on 'C' and games on 'B'. Our passage was a month before the first voyage of our wonderful ship's sister ship RMS ORONSAY maiden voyage.
She did roll a bit then and I think her stabilisers were fitted during a later refit to control the rock which on the trip following ours the night before Fremantle a major tip of the ship resulted in extensive parlour/lounge glass and furniture damage.
A ship of dreams and great memories for many.

Hello Horace, Do you mean bellboy or did you work out on the deck ? I was a bellboy on the STRATHENEDEN from 1961 till she payed off in 1964.I did work on the ORCADES as a B.R.S. from 1965 till AUG. 1966.I went on to end my time at sea on the ORSOVA. I went to sea at 16 and packed up when i was 23.As you said i did a lot of growing up but it was a good time to be single.Best of Luck Paul.

Karen FRANCIS
14 November, 2010 22:27

Hi... please could anyone help me? I believe that when I was just 4 months old I came to the UK with my parents. I was born in Trincomalee, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) as my father was in the Admiralty. I asked my late mother about the trip home and she could only remember that it was a P&O lines ship (she had travelled out on the Himalaya) and the name began with an 'O' possibly Orcades. I have a photo of her standing on the deck and the back is annotated 'July 1951 off Marseilles'. Does anyone have a passenger list that I could see/buy/copy? I suppose that if the ship docked in July then it will have started off from Australia about 6 weeks before but I'm not sure. My parents travelled from Colombo. Thank you... Karen

Hi Karen, UK Incoming Passenger Lists from 1878 to 1960 can be found on the website Ancestry. You do need to pay for this service but, it is likely that, like Australia, many libraries probably offer their clients this service for free. Good luck with finding your records!

Yeah, I was on that trip....originally scheduled to go through the Suez canal, but canal was closed shortly before departure from SouthHampton... good storm crossing the bay of biscay too as i remember :)

Rennie Hamilton
23 August, 2013 21:42

Hi Anne, I am oiginally from Cobh, I travelled to Dublin by train, them to Liverpool by packet boat, train to London and Orcades Dept Tilbury 14/2/1969. Dept. Adelaide March 18 1969. I loved the trip and met some wonderful people on board.

Avrill Elliott
14 August, 2014 19:01

My family and I came out on that sailing had a wonderful journey except the bay of biscay storm which the stabiliser s soon put right

Beverly Chadwick
28 August, 2014 08:37

Hello Anne, I was on that voyage with my parents Walter and Pauline and my brother and sister Ian and Amanda. I was 14 when we boarded in Tilbury and I turned 15 on the day we docked in Cape Town. I recall the Bay of Biscay vividly as the storm was approaching hurricane force and loads of people were seasick including myself and my family except my mother. We all had to be strapped to our bunks and given injections. I loved it on board ship though and have never forgotten it.

David Bonsall
27 January, 2015 17:59

I have just found a tape recording of my observations (made on the ship) of that run down to Fremantle.
It was my first voyage to Australia and I was looking forward to a relaxing time.
The ship did not have an official photographer on board, so having been a photographer working in London, I decided to take on the job. Many hours spent taking and processing (B&W) photos in cramped conditions!
The storm – ah yes. As I remember (?) dinner was being served when Orcades' bow was turned into the on-coming seas, and within a short space of time there were few of us still eating! Later I was out on the stern taking shots of a small fishing boat in trouble (?)
Great memories and an even greater Bar bill on arrival at Fremantle!
Is hostess Anne still around!!??

Heather McWilliam
3 March, 2015 20:31

Hello Anne, My family and I were on that trip leaving Tilbury on a cold miserable day in February 1969. My parents (Jack and Marion McWilliam) and sister Helen, left Cambridge early that morning and travelled to London and then on the boat train to Tilbury. We were in Rotterdam the very next day and then Lisbon,where we went on the swing bridge. I remember being very sick going through the Bay of Biscay but feeling better once out on deck in the fresh air. Next was Dakar, where I was amazed by the different clothes and I found a threepence. I had my first ever drink of coca-cola in Cape Town, was dazzled by the bright sunshine and disappointed not to see clouds on the Table Top. My sister and I dressed as hula girls for the Fancy Dress Party in the ballroom and wore our best frocks for the Children's Birthday Party. Helen celebrated her fifth birthday on board. I remember the glorious warm days by the pool on that long stretch across to Australia. We docked in Freemantle on a Saturday and had my first Australia meat pie! We disembarked in Adelaide the 18th of March and were met by my nana. It was a fantastic trip. I still have our travel ticket, menus for the Children's birthday party and the Fancy Dress as well as the "Atlantic Ocean Race Meeting" card with winning times. My mum was the winning jockey and dad the winning trainer. Amazing memories.

Andrew Young
18 January, 2011 23:27

As an 8 year old in 1965, I was with my parents and two younger sisters travelling to England on the Orcades as my father had an Army posting to Austral House in London. I have memories of crossing the equator and being dunked by the "polywogs" and travelling through the Suez Canal. From Melbourne we stopped in Adelaide, Fremantle, Columbo, Bombay, Aden, Barcelona, before arriving at Tilbury. We spent 3 years in England.

Hi, my mother travelled on the 1965 SS Iberia from Adelaide to Tilbury Docks. There is a long story to this which I will not bore everyone with, but any help or direction towards a passenger list could begin the search to find out who my real father is. Many thanks

Hi Anne. The National Archives in the UK has, unfortunately, not kept incoming passenger lists after 1960 but the National Archives of Australia holds a number of outgoing passenger lists from South Australia. Oddly on the Adelaide office page they indicate that they have these from 1941 to 1964 & from 1967 to 1976 but not 1965. We recommend that you contact the NAA to enquire further about the records that you are seeking.

My mother Mrs Olivia Estelle Mary Fernando travelled from Melbourne Aust to Colombo Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on the SS Orcades on 8th April 1954,with myself 3 years 3 months & my brother Malcolm 1 year 10 months. I will most appreciate if some good soul out there can help me with passenger list or some relevant information. Many thanks in anticipation.

I and my older brother and parents travelled on the "Orcades" from England to Australia. We left England on the 23rd May 1960 and arrived in Adelaide, South Australia on the 17th June 1960. We were lucky, in that we had a cabin only one deck down from the main deck and did not therefore have the misfortune of being in the bowels of the ship like many others. The cabin number I still remember "E292". The main deck was only a few steps up from our cabin and the door to the outside was often left open. This meant fresh air was often blowing down to our cabin. This was wonderful, as I am sure it prevented us from the seasickness that many others suffered from. My father had been a physical training instructor in the British Army for 21 years. He had served time in Ghana and Nigeria during the early to mid 50's when the two countries were preparing for their independence from Britain. My brother and I went with my parents, but I only remember the time in Nigeria. My mum and dad liked their time in Africa and for a time, they were considering migrating to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). However, dad was offerd a job in Adelaide and we headed here instead. A week into the voyage, he was asked by the ship's Captain if he could arrange some games and physical activities for the many children on board. This really helped pass the time, as the ship had more children than usual and the activities normally available couldn't cope with the numbers. Trying to keep so many children from becoming bored and therefore a nuisance was hard work, but I heard the Captain praise my dad for his good organisation, so it must have worked! We passed through the Suez canal. It was fascinating watching all the arab people, the camels, the sounds and smells coming from shore. To an eight year old it was an exotic new world. We also stopped at the Rock of Gibralter, Naples in Italy, Aden, Colombo (Sri Lanka), Fremantle (Western Australia) and finally Adelaide. We had a waiter who took a shine to my brother and I. We were too young to join the adults for afternoon tea or the formal dinner time. The waiter would sneek out cream cakes and other goodies to us and a couple of friends occasionally. Our dinner was usually sandwiches, jelly and watery rice pudding, so these cakes etc, were a wonderful treat. My family and I made a happy life in Australia, although I do have good memories of part of my childhood in England. Most of my relatives still live in England and Scotland. A few years ago, I went to see a new doctor. I entered his office and to my surprise, there on the wall was a large painting of none other than the "Orcades". I questioned the doctor and found he had come out on the same ship, a few years after me. A friend had painted the picture from a photograph. I could even see the porthole of the cabin I travelled in. What a wonderful surprise. I remember the weeks we spent on the ship, the fun we had, the friends we made, the places we visited with great fondness. What an adventure, travelling to a country I had never heard of on the other side of the world. Another "ten pound Pom" travelling on the high seas on the "P&O Orcades".
Laura Potter (nee Gibb)

I travelled from Long Beach California in October 1958 on the Orcades with my Irish parents and two younger brothers. We landed in Fremantle in WA in November of that year - having visited several ports along the way.
I have a copy of the passenger list from that voyage.

I am trying to find out about my father and his family. My father is believed to have travelled from Australia on the 1st of September 1970. He lived in Bordertown (I think) his full name is Michael Kenneth Childs. I believe he had a brother called 'Danny' who left for America worked in computers? Wondered how I would go about finding birth records, with them I would be able to know his fathers name and mothers and try and find out more. Any help would be great.

You can search the National Archives of Australia's (NAA) database for your father's records. Please be aware, not all records are online yet. If you cannot find it online, you will have to contact the NAA directly and request a search.

Julien Kathleen Mazonowicz
25 October, 2011 16:40

I was only five when we came to Australia from England on the orient ship and have some information.

My mother travelled on the Orcades to Sydney whilst carrying me. I was born in King Georges Sydney on July 12th 1950. She often told tales of a fire and losing all her wordly goods as the cabin took water.
There is also a more lurid tale of spending weeks in (Aden?) after the fire with no cash, pending consulate intervention - and bids by a local shopkeeper to secure her as an additional wife. Although pregnant with one dress to her name, she remained a 'looker!'
She continued on to Sydney but returned to England (after being traumatised by the spiders) whilst I was still a toddler.
I hold an Australian birth certificate and my parents were permanent residents whilst there. I think my father may have been in the Australian Navy for that period of time.
What is so very strange is the feeling of Australia being my "Country".
Perhaps I was so relieved to reach dry land - and be born in a safe place, rather than a slightly sinking Orcades.....

I travelled to australia on the 'Orcades' from London in April/may 1965 with my sister Geraldine, and parents, Bill and Annette Ball, im interested in anbody who sailed that time, I was 8 years old my sister was 12. What an adventure it was, the memories will stay with me forever.

Dear Frances ... I was on that voyage with my three siblings and Mum and Dad.
I was also 8 years old. It was an incredible experience. ... a dream like holiday before the reality of settling in Australia (Brisbane). We came from Newcastle upon Tyne. I have never been back yet, but have one Aunty I still correspond with after all these years.

Peter Parfitt
16 March, 2014 16:01

Bill and Mary Parfitt and sons Peter, William and Ralph were on that voyage Frances and you probably remember that we were next door neighbours in Whyalla. They were wonderful days and an exciting journey for a new life. Al the best. 8

Gerry Kearney
25 April, 2014 00:29

Iwas on the Orcades which left Tilbury on 6th
April 1965 arr Fremantle 29th. I was married with a 4month old daughter. We were 10pound poms. Went back on the Achille Lauro 1967 and
came out again on the Australis 1968. Loved
every minute. So easy to get work in those
days

Cathie Lamont
23 January, 2012 00:07

Did you know that the Orcades (1960-69) features in a 20-minute P&O promotional film “I am a Passenger”, and you can view it online at http://www.britishpathe.com/video/i-am-a-passenger-reel-1? My 5-year-old loves the story of my coming to Australia when I was nearly his age in 1967, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a link to a movie about it when I went online to find a photo this morning. It was quite a find! The movie was presumably targeted at migrants so shows some of the everyday aspects of the voyage, not just the glitz - visiting the booking agent, going on the boat train, and what happens to the kids, as well. If you want a trip down memory lane or to show your kids what it was like (or not, as the case may be, for I remember plotting an escape from the crèche), I highly recommend it!

I am tying to trace Gwen who travelled 1967 to Perth any ideas please. forgotten sirname

beryl hatton (nee asprey)
18 August, 2013 23:46

I have seen that video "I am a passenger" and it brought back my childhood memories or me and my parents returning back to the UK on Orcades, leaving Sydney in September 1949. Wonderful times. I have the passenger list and a menu and postcards from that trip.

April Claridge-Elstob
23 November, 2014 06:00

Hi Cathie, I was 5 when I returned to Australia on the Orcades in 1967 about May/June. Am trying to trace a friend I made on board, name of Racheal (don't know surname) around my age, perhaps a bit older. She and her sister got off at Bombay. My Dad took some nice photos while on board but all on slide film. Must watch that passenger reel. Sound good.

Dennis Lloyd
25 January, 2012 09:54

I travelled on the Orcades for a 14 day cruise from Southampton in September 1972, just before she was sent to the scrapyard later that year. Does anyone happen to know the ports of call on that particular cruise? I know the ship left Southampton bound for Vigo in Spain and I know it called at Lisbon, Ponta Delgarda in the Azores and it was suppose to call at Madeira but a message was flashed from London saying that there was an outbreak of polio in Madeira and so the ship diverted course and made a unscheduled stop in Casablanca. Does anyone still have a list of all the places it actually called at (in the correct order)? I would dearly love to know so as to complete my family history.

Hai,
I was a traveller on the orcades. My parents where dutch emigrants from Holland to australië. They couldn't make a living there. So we left australië in January 1972.
I would like to met some people who travelled on this same trip.

Stan and Muriel Peers sailed from Tilbury April 1st 1962 on the Orcades with their five children. Doug 16,Linda13,Ronnie10,Karen 3 and Janet 6 months old. We arrived at Outer Harbour Adelaide 30th April ( fifty years ago today). Disembarked here and spent three weeks at the Elder Park Hostel in Adelaide, it was comfy enough but nothing like the service that we had received on the Orcades, we all loved it, particulary me as I loved the no cooking,no washing and willing baby sitters. After three weeks in Elder park we bought a house in Elizabeth Vale ,loved Elizabeth, there was a few migrants that were on the Orcades with us settled in Elizabeth to name a few Ian and Jean Rose and Mr and Mrs Bill Presswell who had young families. My family have all loved their life in Australia and we definitely call Australia home. Ron is one of Australia's leading guitarists performing in many bands including " Stylus" It was a great decision of my husbands to bring us out here, sadly he passed in 1980.

I saw on ABCTV's Paper Giants last night a contemporary news clip which included the bows of the Orcades docked in Circular Key with the Opera House and ferries in the background. The date stated in the show was 1974, so a little continuity error there, but it was amazing to see "my" ship again (and prompted me to find this website.)
I was a 5-year old immigrant with my parents and 2yo brother in May-June 1964. The four or five families we befriended all eventually went back (for a variety of reasons), but not us! To the best of my memory we travelled Tilbury - Athens - Suez - Aden - Colombo - Fremantle - Adelaide. What an experience for a five year old! It ranks with the moon landing as one of the highlights of my life.

The Museum does not hold any passenger or crew records. We suggest you contact the National Archives of Australia to see if they can help you with your search.

chaswin
24 January, 2014 11:03

Hi Edward [Ted] Holt.
A name I haven't heard for many a year. A family from London England A husband,wife two daughters they told of a "Ted" Holt who was a Petty Officer aboard "SS ORCADES". Melbourne Australia 1950. One daughter had a photo taken by a Melbourne newspaper, she was sitting on the ships rail. She was 17 & quite beautiful, Both parents now deac. she is now in her eighty's still a beautiful person. could you be the same "Ted Holt". Where are you now, would you have a photo of the "girl" on the ships rail, how old are you now? do you remember her? So long ago.

I have in my possession the personal trip record of a Mrs T. Sutcliffe of Clifton Hills in Victoria who travelled on the Orcades from Sydney in June 1957. She travelled to NZ, USA and on to the continent. She kept a pretty good log of the journey. I do not know Mrs Sutcliffe or how the journey log came into my mother's possession, but would like to pass it on to a relative of Mrs Sutcliffe as it would mean more to them.

As a young Canadian girl, I married my Australian husband, Neville, in July 1970. We travelled to Europe and sailed out of Southampton in October, 1970, on our way to Australia. Our ports of call were Rotterdam, Lisbon, Dakar in West Senegal, Capetown and Durban in South Africa and then, after a 9-day crossing of the Indian Ocean, Fremantle. We stopped again in Adelaide before arriving in my new home, Sydney, Australia. We made a wonderful group of friends onboard and thoroughly enjoyed our five-week journey.

I think I was also on the ship at this time, we hit a sand bank and ship listed at 45 degres all crokery was smashed toilets flooded and many hurt including me hit by a suitcase in the cabin, there was a suiside and some money was stolen police were used in freemantle to arrest the thieves. we have some film footage of the voyage photos with captian and an ash tray from the ship

Steve Murray
4 January, 2014 16:43

My family arrived in Australia from England in March 1970. We came on the Orcades too, visiting the same ports that you mentioned. I wonder if you were on the same boat?!

Roger Freeman
14 December, 2012 20:29

As a 15 year old in 1964 I emigrated from the UK to Melbourne on the Orcades with my mum & dad & two brothers via the Suez canal. We arrived in Melbourne on Septemeber 7th. This was for us a trip of a life time, we visited countries that we had only read about and had a great time. I won the junior section of the fancy dress ball dressed as Doctor Kildare and I still have the photo to prove it as well as an Orcades embossed autograph book which was my prize. I also have a dinner menu with a picture of the Orcades on the front. I had in my possession up until a few years ago a copy of the passenger list but lost it in one of my house moves. Great memories and it seems just like yesterday.

I was on the 1964 trip too on my own as an emigrant from Scotland to New Zealand. Stayed three years, got married and returned to Glasgow. The trip was the best holiday of my life and I've had some good ones. Nothing can improve on youth, sunshine and adventure. I was dressed as a cracker at the fancy dress party and also gave the photo.

Deb Meredith
4 March, 2013 13:36

I was a passenger on the Orcades In April 1972. The voyage before its last one, with my parents and two brothers. I was 11 years old. We travelled to Japan, Hong Kong, (where the ship caught fire) Also to Guam. Had a great time with the other chidren, Always lots of games. I went in a fashion parade and remember the Seekers paying on board one night! The ship was caught in a cyclone at one stage, ropes all over the ship for hanging on, things smashing and the resturant flooding. At the time my brothers and I thought it was all great fun, but of cause now as an adult, I would be completely freaking out... Still, it was a most memorable and happy time. Does anyone know where I could find a list of the passengers that where on that cruise?

travelled on the Orcades from Melbourne to Durban in 1972 Think this was the last trip back to UK. Lots of South Africans returning from a cruise around the south pacific I seem to recall? Be interested to hear of anyone else on that trip

Hi Allan, My wife and I and 8 month old baby were on that trip.We boarded in Sydney june 3rd then around to each Aussie port on our way to Durban. We spent a day there, then another in Capetown before going on to Dakar in Senegal. We were on our way to be missionaries in Ghana. We ran a Bible Study on the ship to which 16 people came.

Keith J Cayley
28 May, 2013 13:12

With Micheal Finn & 2 others we arrived in Auckland NZ 27thdec 1960 from Canada ,took about 3 weeks On the Orcades.I would like to know if Micheal is still around .Last saw him in 1962 in Christchurch nZ

Before passing my father gave me a little ( approx. 9" high) sailor doll with his Orcades sailor cap on collected on one my parent's trips on Orcades. Also a sailor cap (Orcades) coin purse. My parents enjoyed sailing on both Orcades and Oransay and had many fond memories.
If anyone is collecting items and are interested please contact

I am currently organising a party for a friend who travelled from England to Australia in May 1964 I would love to find some memorabilia if it is still available she will love it thanks

Catherine (Hamilton) Chapman
7 September, 2013 04:10

I traveled on the Orcades in May/June 1958 from San Francisco to Sydney with my Mother and Sister. We traveled again on the Orcades from Sydney back to San Francisco in Sept/Oct 1958. Would love to hear from anyone that was on either one of these voyages.

My wife and her 2 brothers and her Mother left Tilbury on 26th October 1953 bound for Adelaide on the Orcades. Anyone on that same trip?
Mrs. Cecily Violet Chalk.
Michael Chalk.
Geoffrey Chalk.
Lesley Anne Chalk.

I am transcribing my grandfather's (Albert Edward Tulloch) journal of his and his wife Rose's 1957 cruise on the Orcades to the Orient, which visited Rabaul, Hong kong, Yokahama, Manila, and Port Moresby. I also have official photos of the cruise dinners, going ashore in Rabaul, various feast and the names of several crew members and passengers they befriended.
The were big cruise fans and also went on the Orient in 1952 to England and the Orsova in 1956 to New Zealand also extensively journaled and accompanied by photos and postcards.

My aunt ,Marian McLaren sailed on the SS Orcades on February 8th 1957 from Sydney to England. I am reading through her diary that she kept, detailing her time on board. The ship made stops in Melbourne ,Adelaide , Capetown ,Las Palmas before berthing in England. I have a passenger list for that journey, and a menu. Unfortunately, she was killed in Germany that year.

My Mother (Marjorie Duffy) and Father (Michael McGuire) both travelled from the UK Dec 16 1949 and arrived in Adelaide in January 1950. They got on board single and Married in Sept. 1950. They both came from Glasgow, never knew each other before getting on the ship.

I traveled as an 8 year old with my parents from Long Beach, California to Sydney, via Hawaii, Fiji and New Zealand. I had the time of my life while my parents were sea sick most of the voyage. Would love to find some pictures and the passenger list from that trip.

My mother and I travelled to Australian on the Orcades in 1962. I was 5 years old and distinctly remember dressing up as a bunny rabbit for the obligatory fancy dress. It was hot, I was ill - indeed I think we were both ill all the way. I never found out if it had stabilisers - but if it did, they didn't work! My mother recently died aged 80, but we never forgot that journey!

I was a ships writer aboard the Orcades 1967-1968. I was 20 years of age. I have fondest memories on the ship. It was an experience I will never forget. I think the captain at that time was Hayles. Purser was Burton. I now live on Vancouver Island, and I become excited when I see cruise ships sail up the Juan Fuca Straits to Alaska.

I was 2 and a half on the trip from England to Australia in 1967... apparantly I had chickenpox and they put me in spotty pjs. I'm currently researching the trip. I had a certificate from King Neptune and don't remember too much but I'm finding this blog fascinating :)

April Claridge-Elstob
23 November, 2014 06:16

Hi Trevor, What month did you start in 1967? I was passenger en-route to Melbourne from Tilbury, leaving June 1967 for which I still have the passenger tickets. I was only 5 then. Am looking for a friend I had named Rachel, don't know surname. Got off at Bombay.

Debbie Robertson (nee Bainbridge)
26 February, 2015 09:41

Hi, I travelled on the Orcades on 23rd December 1967, from Southampton. I was emigrating to Sydney by myself and I was only 18 years old, which was quite brave then. It was a terrific trip as it encompassed Christmas and New Year. I arrived in Sydney at the end of January 1968 (I think). Was anyone else on that trip?

Tony Francis
11 January, 2014 11:09

I was a crew member on the Orcades in 1963 to 1964 i enjoyed the ports we visited it was great any other crew members from that period?

I worked as a hairdresser in the first class salon in 1963/64,a great friendly ship and some good times.then went onto the Iberia for about a year or so.

Carol Cornish
16 January, 2014 23:07

Our family migrated to Adelaide on the Orcades in Jan 1970. We departed Durban in very rough seas and even crew members were sea sick. The magnificent pool was never filled as the sea was too rough and many meals were served in cabins. My poor sister was so sea sick all the way across. It was a beautiful ship, and I remember watching the movie Oliver several times, playing table tennis with the ball moving backwards because of the ship swaying so rigorously. We did make some friends and I remember learning to ballroom dance! Great memories.

I emigrated with my Grandparents, Mum, Dad and 2 sisters on that voyage Carol and remember being terribly seasick after leaving Durban. I also remember getting stuck if one of the lifts one day when it opened between floors (I think because my sister and I were fighting over the controls and had pushed the buttons too many times) Dad was in a different cabin to us on the other side of the ship. And my Grandparents were on another deck completely. It was the best "holiday" I had ever had as I child and we loved every minute of it. I remember how caring the cabin stewards were and the crossing the Equator party with King Neptune. My youngest sister fell in the pool and was pulled out by her pony tail by my Grandfather. She proudly told everyone for days that she had Drownded !!

James (Bob) Marsh
19 January, 2014 14:32

I sailed on the Orcades in 1964 and purchased a cigaret lighter with the ships flag on it. I still have it and will be taking it with me when I sail on another P & 0 ship later this month to show other passengers.

My husband myself and our 18 month old daughter sailed from Auckland to England aboard the Orcades in August 1967. It was a terrific trip calling in at Fiji, Pago Pago, Vancouver, San Fransico, Mexico, Hawaii, Panama and a few more ports. Does anyone else remember this voyage?
We became friendly with a family Deane, Christine and Laurie and they had four children, three girls and a boy. They settled in Blenheim. Would love to know where they are.

As a 6 year old I travelled on the Orcades with my family to England in 1955. I am amazed and thankful for the many memories I have of the voyage and the exotic places we stopped at. It remains a highlight of my life to this day and watching the British Pathe film ,I am a passenger, bought up many more memories. I especially remember crossing the equator ceremony,being plastered with ice cream and thrown in the pool!

Hi Lisa
I knew an Alan King when I taught at Rockingham tafe in WA in the a990's. Could it be the same Alan King? I know that the Alan King that I knew had served as a marine engineer and I remember him telling me he had spent time on the QE2.

Lisa Kitney
17 January, 2015 02:25

Hi Roger , my dad stopped sailing in 1960 and I don't think he worked his way to Marine Engineer , sorry I think it may have been a different person

Sylvie McKay
21 April, 2014 13:23

I travelled with my new husband on the Orcades leaving Tilbury on 23rd April 1958. There were 5-course meals at least twice a day and we had a cabin to ourselves consisting of two berths and a porthole. Luxury! At the fancy dress night, I folded my single bedspread in 4, sewed the sides and the shoulders, borrowed a tie from another passenger to put around my short hair, and another for a belt for my hips, did the Charleston and won 1st prize for my depiction of a 1920s' flapper. Dancers came aboard at what was then Ceylon and I think a snake charmer. I bought for 2/6d a sort of banjo made of half a coconut shell and some string, followed the vendor around watching him and by the time I got back to the ship, I could play "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow adequately. When I left the ship the ship's Liaison Officer gave me a silver kookaburra for my charm bracelet. It was the most sumptuous, the best holiday I have ever had and I still dream of the Mediterranean along the coast of Italy and then Aden. The crew were very friendly and helpful and we all made friends and had a great time.

I was 16 when I emigrated to Australia with my parents on the Orcades. We left Southhampton on 13th October 1965 and stopped at Port Said. I remember a colourful magician came on board there and he was called the gully gully man. I had befriended our table waiter, David Smith, and we hired a motorbike and rode around the town constantly breaking down. Sailing down the Suez Canal, we were then supposed to stop at Aden, but there was a lot of strife going on there with riots and agitation against the British. So we stayed a day at Djibouti instead. Following that we moved on to Bombay and a fascinating day your of the city. Next stop was Colombo with a similar tour. We arrived in Fremantle on November 5th and then across the Bight and disembarked in Melbourne on November 9th. From there we flew to Adelaide that day and I have lived here ever since.
The trip was a fantastic eye opener for a teenager like me: many parties, table tennis, the juke box, poker machines and an introduction to many Aussies returning home. One was a brilliant piano player and all made this young man feel very welcome. I won a fancy dress prize as Bob Dylan, playing 'The Times They Are Changing' on my guitar and harmonica. I have a photo of Captain Riddelsdel giving me a prize of an Orcades autograph book. The times certainly changed for me!

Hi Jonathan
I was a bedroom steward on the Orcades from 1965 to 1966 and I remember that
Trip,we used refuel in Aden but there was trouble so we went to Djibouti to refuel
What a dump.

jack wind
5 June, 2014 07:33

I would like to know the date in 1960, about
july I left Vancouver Canada on the orcades
to Sydney Australia. vancouver to san Francisco, then los angeles, hawaie, Fiji, new Zealand and finally Sydney.

While we can probably give you a date of arrival into Sydney on the Orcades, we don't have access to departure information from foreign ports, just arrivals into Australian ports. In order to confirm a specific date of departure in Vancouver, you may need to contact a Canadian institution that deals directly with emigration records.

Chazwin
25 June, 2014 11:08

Attention Edward Holt, does the name Glazier ring a bell? The big "O" Sailing to Australia October, November 1950? I believe you were a Petty Officer on that voyage. Which country do you now live? I know the Glaziers very well, your name was one mentioned of the many people they met on the voyage. Was surprised to find your name coming up in the "Orcades" Victorian Museum. It was a "fluke" that I found the museum a bigger "fluke" that I found your name as it was one of the names a daughter of the Glaziers spoke of.

I travelled to England on Orcades in November 1965 returning again on Orcades in March 1966 as a sixteen year old I loved it. I later worked for P&O and was lucky to travel on Arcadia ,Iberia ,Himalaya and Cathay

I sailed with my parents Dot and Arthur Budgen, brother Michael (12)and sister Claire (8), I was 13. We left Tilbury on April 1st 1968 and sailed via Rotterdam, Lisbon, Dakar, Cape Town and Durban, arriving in Fremantle on 28 April. I still remember the sadness at leaving UK and holding onto the last streamers but the excitement of going on a holiday. There was a woman in a fur coat on the dock, who looked as though she'd had a few drinks and maybe changed her mind about embarking and a couple of burly crewmen carried her on board to the cheers of the passengers! The ship seemed very luxurious for kids from a small town in the north of England. We were amazed by the meals and the bowls of tropical fruit on the table, many of which we hadn't tasted before. My bother and I were too old for the Kids Club (which my sister loved) and felt too young for many of the adult activities so spent a lot of our time playing table tennis. Afternoon tea was a highlight of the day! While were docked in Lisbon for the day we took a train trip to the seaside at Estoril. We missed the train to get back and ended up in a taxi who took us to the Oriana which was also berthed there. I remember the feeling of fright by my parents that we might miss the ship and be stuck in Lisbon with three kids and very little money! Thankfully we got back to the Orcades just in time to embark. It was an amazing trip and one that stays very firmly in my memory

hi Jill, we also were on the orcades sailing in april. this was our honeymoon (all for 10 pound) we travelled all around Australia finally ending up in Sydney with 40 dollars ??? we got o job on a cattle station were we had the best time for 6 months ( near Walgett) we settled in Brisbane and have been back to the uk about 13 times. when we left it was assumed we would never been seen again, how times have changed. have you seen the large model of the orcades in the maritime museum Sydney, I do hope you settled ok .

Graeme
18 September, 2014 00:10

The Orcades left Melbourne on 3 February 1949, and Fremantle on 7 February 1949. Can anyone tell me if it stopped in Adelaide to pick up passengers?

Hello, I have fond memories of spending 6 weeks on the Orcades, leaving Tilbury for Melbourne in the June in 1966 (for which I still possess the ticket). The reason it took 6 weeks was that we had a diversion due to war that caused the Suez Canal to become suddenly becoming closed, so the ship was detoured via Cape Town and Durbin. We crossed the equator 3 times as had passengers for India and what was then, Ceylon. What a wonderful cruise! For that two weeks extra via Africa, we were also upgraded to a First Class Cabin as ours had cockroaches in but had to relinquish the First Class Cabin for the passengers getting on at Bombay. We were so lucky to have had that extra time and a temporary upgrade, and my mother had commented before we left Tilbury how she'd love an extra long cruise having just got out of hospital. I was just over 5 1/2, and recall the crossing of the Equator ceremony (I still have my King Neptune Certificate) should have been done 3 times though! We all had a bit of a fright at one point though, as there was some trouble with the funnel that suddenly began making this tremendous screaming noise. It was very frightening at the time but also quite comical as all the people happily enjoying the swimming pool came leaping out in alarm like hopping frogs! One poor woman was so terrified that she was standing on the bottom railing about to jump overboard thinking that the ship was about to sink. If it wasn't for my Dad, she would have done so. I made friends with another girl on board and I was hoping to find her or what has happened to her since, a girl about a year or two older than I, who got off at Bombay with her younger sister and parents. Her name was Racheal, but don't know the surname. Perhaps someone has a Passenger List for June 1966? Thanks.